Hillary Clinton says she was ‘quizzed about UFOs and Pizzagate’ in her Epstein testimony
Hillary Clinton gave her hours-long testimony in the Jeffrey Epstein congressional hearing, where the questions turned to UFOs and conspiracy theories.
The former First Lady and Secretary of State was questioned by the House Oversight Committee about Epstein’s activities and what knowledge she had.
Clinton, who lost the 2016 presidential race to Donald Trump, said that she didn’t remember ever meeting the late convicted paedophile and financier and that she had no information to share.
In a statement, Clinton said: ‘I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices.’
Clinton said some of the questions during her seven-hour hearing got ‘unusual.’
She said: ‘It got quite unusual because I started being asked about UFOs and a series of questions about Pizzagate, one of the most vile bogus conspiracy theories.’
Pizzagate refers to the conspiracy theory that went viral during the 2016 election, falsely claiming that a pizza restaurant in Washington DC was a front for a paedophile ring run by Clinton, and that the police had discovered a child sex crime ring linked to Democrats.
Clinton, who appeared calm despite the long testimony, told reporters after it: ‘We returned to answer questions repetitively, literally over and over again.
‘I don’t know how many times I had to say that I never knew Jeffrey Epstein, I never went to his island, I never went to his homes, I never went to his offices.
‘So it’s on the record numerous times.
Clinton took aim at Trump in her testimony, accusing the Republican-led panel of trying to shift attention away from the president’s links to Epstein.
She accused Trump’s administration of ‘gutting’ a government department focusing on international sex trafficking.
She was quizzed for seven hours behind closed doors at the hearing in Chappaqua, New York, where the Clintons reside.
Her husband, former US president Bill Clinton, will give his deposition later today.
The Clintons had initially refused to testify, saying the hearings were politically motivated, but agreed to do so later.
James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said: ‘No one is accusing the Clintons of any wrongdoing.
‘We just have a lot of questions.’
Other high-profile people invited to the hearing include Epstein’s associate and girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence in a US prison for sex trafficking of girls, refused to answer questions, invoking her right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment.
Questions are being raised about whether Trump, who was mentioned thousands of times in the Epstein files, could be forced to testify.
Trump has denied any accusations of wrongdoing and having any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
Epstein died in an apparent suicide in his prison cell in New York in 2019 while awaiting trial. He was convicted in 2008 for soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl. Despite his conviction, many of his high-profile friends stayed in touch with and visited him.
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